Digimon Tamers: Bump In the Night
by Frozen Phoenix
Summary: A scary story told in the park has Ai and Makoto afraid to go to sleep. Will the Boogeyman really get them? Not if Impmon has anything to say about it!


A/N: This is the result of childhood memories, (my cousin used to tell me this story when I visited him, though I never really believed it) and the overall feelings accompanying Halloween. The story is "fluff," and my first Impmon related one in which I _don't _emotionally torment him. I must be losing my touch. Enjoy!    

**_Disclaimer:_**_ Digimon is the property of Toei Animation and of Bandai_

* * *

Bump In the Night

By Frozen Phoenix

It started simply, as most things in life do. On a cool, clear day, Ai and Makoto were enjoying themselves in the park, with their mother looking on. And after spending much of their time making use of the swings, the young and twin red headed Tamers finally made their way to a large sandbox that was positively brimming with other children. 

One of them, an older male child with untidy black hair, sparkling eyes and a mischievous expression glanced at Ai and Makoto curiously, as he spoke and gestured animatedly to the rest of the children. 

"And then, he comes out of the closet-"

"Not the closet!" A girl with blond pigtails cried, covering her eyes. 

"Yes, the closest." The boy continued while smiling. "He comes out of the closet and just when you think you're safe, he-"

"What are you talking about?" Makoto interrupted, a look of bewilderment painted upon his face. 

"The Boogeyman." A brown haired boy supplied shivering. "Daishirou was telling us how your mom and dad can't see him and when it's dark, he comes out of the closet."

"That's right!" The black haired boy known as Daishirou burst out excitedly. "He comes out of the closet and when you think you're safe in your bed…" Daishirou paused dramatically.     

"What happens?" Ai inquired fearfully. 

Clearly enjoying the attention, Daishirou sighed with mock sorrow. 

            "And then…" He paused once again before screaming, "HE CLIMBS ON TO YOUR BED AND EATS YOU UP!"   

Several children, Ai and Makoto included, jumped and shrieked, while Daishirou snickered at the chaos. But with the arrival of numerous worried parents and the sound of his mother shouting his name, he quickly paled. 

            "Matsui Daishirou!" A tall, black haired woman admonished angrily as she drew closer to the sandbox. "What have your father and I told you about telling stories to frighten the other children?" 

Daishirou rubbed the back of his head nervously. 

            "Eh-heh. You said, um, not to?" 

Mrs. Matsui's frown deepened and she quickly pulled her son out of the sandbox and grasped his hand tightly. 

            "That's right young man. Your father will certainly be hearing about this…" 

As she continued her lecture, wails of "The Boogeyman!" and "He's in the closet!" continued to be heard along with the chastising and comforting of the adults. Although the arrival of Ai and Makoto's mother calmed both children, they glanced at one another warily. The story wasn't really true…was it? Both children were afraid to find out. 

~*~

And inevitably, the mysterious night did come. But while the darkness gave most people a feeling of unease, it suited Impmon just fine. The Child Digimon was of the Viral variety, something his appearance that of a small, purple demon with a strange smiley face on his chest, gloves, a red bandana, pointed tail and his slightly malicious nature, made abundantly clear. 

Impmon had spent many a night roaming the streets of Shinjuku, scaring passerby and would be troublemaker alike. And even after the defeat of the rogue computer program D-Reaper and his reconciliation with his estranged Tamers, Impmon continued to stalk the night. The only thing that had changed was that he made it a point not to go out with out saying good night to Ai and Makoto. Being young, they went to bed rather early and it saved Impmon some grief. Or so he kept telling himself. 

Walking down the hallway to the room shared by Ai and Makoto, Impmon couldn't shake a feeling of disquiet that had been festering within him. Ever since their return from the park, Ai and Makoto had been acting…strange. __

_            With all that whisperin' they were doing, you'd think they were hiding somethin'. _Impmon musedthoughtfully. And it wasn't the only bout of oddness that had occurred that evening. The twins had taken just about forever to eat their dinner, despite it being one of their favorite things, they'd dallied for what seemed like hours over brushing their teeth and getting into their pajamas and their mother had to practically carry them to bed. All in all, Impmon knew that something was up. 

Shaking his head sardonically, he twisting the doorknob and opened the door. Expecting to find his Tamers impatiently waiting for him on their bed, his jaw dropped at the sight that greeted him. It looked as if just about every toy Ai and Makoto owned, along with both of their dressers had been haphazardly shoved in front of the closet. Blinking in astonishment, Impmon stepped into the room. 

            "What the heck happened in here?" He muttered awestruck. 

            "A trap." Makoto supplied helpfully from some hidden locale. 

            "Whaduya mean 'a trap?" Impmon sputtered. "And where are you two anyway?"

It was Ai who answered him. 

            "We're hiding."  

            "Yes, hiding." Makoto repeated. 

Impmon sweatdropped, feeling the beginnings of what would probably prove to be a terrible headache. 

            "No kiddin'. What I wanna know is where you're hiding out and why."

For a moment, silence was his only reply. Then with a loud shuffle, first Makoto, then Ai emerged from what Impmon had assumed to be merely a stack of clothes. Both were wide-awake and as they squirmed guiltily, their eyes betrayed an overwhelming fear. 

            "We were hiding from…" Ai spoke as she glanced at Makoto worriedly. Makoto nodded sagely and Ai continued. 

            "The Boogeyman." 

Staring at her blankly, Impmon frowned. 

            "The Boogeyman? Who's he supposed to be?" 

This elicited another glance between the twins. 

            "The Boogeyman hides in the closet and when you get into bed, he climbs on it and eats you." Makoto explained in a whisper. 

Impmon struggled to hold back his amusement, trying to suppress a snicker that waited to break free. He'd faced death, psychosis and deletion, but the thought of some imaginary monster hiding in a closet, it was almost too much. But when he noticed the same fearful look on his Tamers' faces, his amusement vanished. 

            _I guess I shouldn't be surprised they're scared, _Impmon reflected. _They're still pretty young to begin with. And that little punk's lucky that I wasn't there, I would've really given him somethin' to be scared of.  _

            "So let me get this straight." Impmon responded. "Some kid told ya that there's a monster-"

            "The Boogeyman." Ai interrupted firmly. 

            "A Boogeyman." Impmon repeated, rolling his eyes. "And if ya go to sleep, he's gonna come out of the closet and eat the both of you. So you piled all this stuff in front of it, to make sure that he couldn't come in?"      

Ai and Makoto nodded vigorously in affirmation. 

            "So why don't ya tell your Mom or something? She'd probably-"

            "We can't tell Mommy." Makoto protested. "He said that she and Daddy couldn't see the Boogeyman." 

            _That kid thought of everything._ Impmon sighed. He didn't like seeing his Tamers so upset, especially over something so foolish. Resolutely, he walked over to the heaping pile before the closet, ignoring Ai's gasp of horror and began to dig around, searching. 

Grunting at the exercise, he struggled to retrieve the thick blankets that had previously occupied the bed, which had been too large for the children to move on their own. 

            "What are you doing Impmon?" Makoto inquired. "If you move our trap, then the Boogeyman will get us!" 

With one good tug, Impmon pulled the blankets roughly. But the opposite force of the action rebounded, suddenly sending the Child Digimon sprawling. Ai and Makoto ran to their fallen partner, both wondering if he was all right. Groaning lightly, Impmon stood and dragged the blankets towards him. 

            "Climb in." He ordered, indicating the empty bed. 

Makoto's eyes widened. 

            "But the Boogeyman-"

Impmon snorted. 

            "The Boogeyman isn't going to get you." His expression became cocky, as the twins uncomprehendingly obeyed. 

            "You're forgettin' just who's your partner around here." He continued. "Do ya think that I'm gonna let anything, especially some imaginary freak, hurt the two of you?"

Finally climbing into the bed, the twins shook their heads. But Impmon could plainly see that they still needed a little more convincing. 

            "Still," He spoke assuredly. "Just to make sure the Boogeyman or whatever it's called doesn't try anything…"

He began to glow brightly as he spoke and seconds later, Impmon had vanished and Beelzebumon: Blast Mode stood in his place smirking. 

            "…Might as well be prepared." The Demon Lord concluded confidently, his voice deeper than his prior incarnation.

Ai and Makoto couldn't help but stare at their recently evolved partner. He was much bigger than Impmon and his three eyes, black wings and sharp claws made him all the more intimidating.

Beelzebumon couldn't help but gulp under Ai and Makoto's curious scrutiny. 

            "You're not scared of me, are you?" He asked nervously. 

            "We're never scared of you Impmon." Ai replied seriously. 

Makoto smiled. 

            "You're really big."

Inwardly, Beelzebumon breathed a sigh of relief. Outwardly he shrugged. 

            "How do you think I took down that D-Reaper agent? If I were still short, he probably would have deleted me before I was able to get a shot off." But thinking of how much time had elapsed since his entrance into the room, Beelzebumon frowned.

             "But enough with the reminiscing. I'm here now and no Boogey-anything is gonna come and get you. So go to sleep."   

 Ai giggled as she snuggled under the blankets and Makoto joined in with her soon after. 

            "Night Impmon. Love you." They spoke cheerfully in unison.   

Beelzebumon wasn't very comfortable with all the sentiments, but with no one around, he figured that he could slip just a little. 

            "Yeah well, I love you too. Now go to sleep!" 

A few moments later, the giggling had subsided, the sounds of breathing and shifting as the twins tried to get comfortable. 

Leaned against a wall beside the bed, setting his black, avian wings around him, Beelzebumon tried to get settled. With no way to use up his energy, he knew that he would be evolved for quite some time. 

            _Nothing wrong with being comfortable, _he thought affably. He stole a quick glance at the bed where the sleeping children did lay.  

He couldn't leave them. The thought of them waking during the night and finding him gone wasn't something he planned upon chancing.

With a low grunt, Beelzebumon crossed his arms over his chest. Sending a last withering look at the barricaded closet, he snorted superciliously and finally lowered his head… 

~*~

Ai and Makoto's mother opened their bedroom door cautiously. She usually checked on her children during the night, a habit that wouldn't relieve itself even after Impmon's reappearance. 

But it was an unexpected sight that did greet her that evening. The bedroom was in shambles, with clothing piled and the closet door barricaded with toys. The only normality was the forms of Makoto and Ai, contently asleep in their beds. But it was the view of Impmon, also sleeping as he leaned against the wall close by, which caught her attention.   

She frowned, before exiting the room quickly and from a closet nearby, retrieving a blanket. Creeping into her children's bedroom, doing her best to avoid the cluttered piles that were spread about, she gently covered the small Digimon with the blanket. She figured it was safer that way, rather than putting him into the bed and having Makoto or Ai accidentally hurt him. 

Glancing worriedly at the blockaded closet door as she silently retreated, Ai and Makoto's mother sighed lightly. 

_            I don't know exactly what happened in here, _she thought wearily. _But I'm sure that I'll hear all about it tomorrow_. 

And with a secret smile, she quietly closed the door.

~The End~


End file.
